John Tortorella isn’t done with coaching, not by a long shot. The fiery veteran, now 68, just told The Athletic he wants to coach “now,” even after his short gig with the Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up two months ago, ending just two wins shy of a Stanley Cup. Torts said he wanted to coach that Vegas team and even told general manager Kelly McCrimmon as much. Talk about a coach who still has the fire burning!
The Vegas Ride That Ended Too Soon
Tortorella’s brief stint in Vegas began with him stepping in for Bruce Cassidy with only eight games left in the regular season. It was a whirlwind, but they pushed all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Man, what a run that was! They ultimately lost in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes in mid-June. Even though Torts pushed hard to stay on, he respected McCrimmon’s call to promote minor-league coach Ryan Craig. He even gave Craig a shout-out, saying “He’s a good coach and a good man.” It shows the respect despite the tough situation.
Torts’ Long Game and the Pursuit of History
This guy has 24 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience, with Vegas being his seventh stop on the tour, including two separate tenures with the New York Rangers. His longest run was with Tampa Bay from 2000-01 to 2007-08, which is where he snagged his only Stanley Cup in 2004. He’s also coached in Columbus, Philadelphia, and Vancouver, leaving his mark everywhere. From Boston, Tortorella is sixth on the NHL’s all-time list with 1,628 games coached, making him first among U.S.-born coaches. His 777 career wins rank him second among U.S.-born coaches, trailing only Peter Laviolette’s 846. And with a 70-72 career playoff record, he’s sitting 20th on the NHL list in wins. That’s a serious resume!
That Disappointed Feeling, Still Hunting for More
Coming up short on a second Cup clearly still stings for Torts. He said the word he’d use is “disappointed.” He genuinely felt like they didn’t finish the job, and he wanted more time with that club to try and get it done. But, as he put it, that’s not his call, it’s the general manager and president’s. He’s the kind of guy who just gets about his business after those tough decisions. What does this mean for Torts? He’s clearly hungry, and a second Stanley Cup is still very much on his mind. The question now is which team will give the veteran coach a shot at adding another ring to his collection.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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